[Source: The Press Enterprise] An analysis of the fiscal health of the 75 most populated cities in the country found that the vast majority don’t have enough money to pay for their bills, including many in California.
A new report by transparency group Truth in Accounting found that 64 of the 75 cities owed more than they can cover at the end of fiscal year 2016, mostly due to pension and other post-employment benefits.
The 75 cities had combined unfunded debts of $335.4 billion, $210.7 billion of which was pension debt.
Irvine in Orange County was actually listed as the top sunshine city in the country, with the city’s taxpayer surplus amounting to $5,200 per taxpayer.
“Unlike most cities, Irvine’s elected officials have only promised the amount of benefits they can afford to pay,” the report concluded.
Many other California cities on the list haven’t been so fortunate. San Francisco’s taxpayer burden of $27,500 per taxpayer was among the largest in the country and was so steep that it makes Los Angeles’ $7,200 deficit per taxpayer look responsible
Anaheim, noted to have $1.1 billion in assets against bills of $1.7 billion, was found to have a $5,300 deficit per taxpayer by the end of fiscal year 2016. Santa Ana, with $301.6 million in assets against bills of $664.2 million, had a $3,400 deficit per taxpayer.
Riverside’s mismatch, with $818.9 million in assets against $1.1 billion in bills, amounted to a $2,600 burden per taxpayer. Finally, Long Beach, with $2.7 billion available in assets to cover $2.9 billion in bills, had a per taxpayer deficit of $1,500.
It is evident that cities across the country are faced with the common problem of promising more than can be covered, especially with respect to pensions.
Unfortunately, the same problem is true of state government. Last year, Truth in Accounting found that California’s debts and unfunded obligations translate to a $21,600 deficit per taxpayer. Taken together with city governments, California taxpayers are being saddled with massive debts and unfunded obligations.
It is no wonder politicians and special interest groups are always campaigning for tax hikes. Now taxpayers just need to wise up to what appeals for tax hikes are really all about.
The editorial board and opinion section staff are independent of the news-gathering side of our organization. Through our staff-written editorials, we take positions on important issues affecting our readership, from pension reform to protecting our region’s unique natural resources to transportation. The editorials are unsigned because, while written by one or more members of our staff, they represent the point of view of our news organization’s management. In order to take informed positions, we meet frequently with government, community and business leaders on important issues affecting our cities, region and state. During elections, we meet with candidates for office and the proponents and opponents of ballot initiatives and then make recommendations to voters.
Source: The Editorial Board/The Press Enterprise
February 6, 2018
